Releasable fastening devices



Dec. 12, 1961 P. s. JEAvoNs 3,012,804

RELEASABLE FASTENING DEVICES Filed Oct. l5, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 By MdmTroevgy Dec. l2, 1961 P. s. JEAvoNs 3,012,804

RELEASABLE FASTENING DEVICES Filed Oct. 15, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG.4.

l m i /fwf/vroe Pff/L /P JW//vefwoap C/f/Q von/6 /l Trae/Vey UniteStates 3,012,804 RELEASABLE FASTENING DEVICES Philip Swingers/ood(tentons, Birmingham, England, assignors to Wilmot-insertan Limited,Birmingham, England Filed Get. 15, 1957, Ser. No. 690,289 Claimspriority, application Great Britain Get. 16, 1956 11 Claims. (Cl.292-221) atenlt has to exert restraint against upward and downward jmovement of the'doors relatively to the body and also restraint againstunlimited further inward movement of the doors beyond their closedpositions.

rI'he foregoing further inward movement or overtravel occurs when a cardoor is slammed before being returned due to the resilience of theperipheral door seals and the elastic deformation of both body and door.It is accordingly very desirable that motor vehicle door fasteningsshould be able to tolerate a considerable amount of overtravel in orderto perform the door-fastening operation. It will be understood also thatthe door-fastening operation has to be effected very rapidly, i.e. whilethe door is completing the last inch or thereabouts of its inwardtravel. In addition to the foregoing requirements the door fasteningsmust be readily releasable despite the pressure due to the peripheralseals which acts constantly outwards and results in quite a largeoutward force at the latch point.

By reason of the diverse requirements which they have to satisfy, and ofthe arduous conditions under which they operate, motor vehicle doorfastenings are complex mechanisms, comprising not only the outside orvisible interengaging elements fixed on to the door pillar and bodypillar yof the vehicle but also inside locking mechanism, i.e.components hidden from View within the panelling, which constitutes thelock mechanism proper of tll door fastening.

It is the main object of the present invention to provide an improvedreleasable fastening device which, while intended for any fasteningapplication to which it is suited, lends itself to construction as amotor vehicle door fastening capable of complying with the variousrequirements already mentioned while yet having fewer parts and beingconsiderably less costly than motor vehicle door fastenings as atpresent constructed. Another object is to provide a releasable fasteningdevice which will comply with the foregoing requirements without springloading of its parts being absolutely essential to its operation.Further, the invention aims at providing a releasable fastening devicewith which only light operating loads will be required to release thefastening.

According to one aspect of the invention the releasable fastening devicecomprises two plate-like parts between which relative translatorymovement in parallel planes occurs during the fastening operation and,due to a portion'of one of the parts projecting into the plane of theother part to engage the latter, causes angular movement of the one partrelatively to the other, about a horizontal axis substantially normal tothe planes olf said translatory movement, into a fastening position. l

Ihe said other part preferably comprises two surface ICS portions withone or the other of which the projecting portion of the first partengages during the fastening operation, said surface portions being ofsuch form that forces exerted between them and said projecting portiondue to relative translatory movement in the reverse di rection passsubstantially through said axis `whereby substantially no torque isapplied to the first part. One of said surface portions is engaged bythe projecting portion of the tirst part in the fully locked engagementof the parts while the other provides a safety lock condition when fulllock is not achieved.

According to another aspect the invention comprises a releasablefastening device where in a latch plate i,

mounted for angular movement about a centre has a projecting portionwhich engages with a cam surface formed on an outer peripheral edge ofthe one jaw of a substantially lC-shaped striker plate as a result ofrelative translatory movement between the latch plate and the strikerplate during the fastening operation ,and enters into wedging contactwith said surface on relative translatory movement in the reversedirection, the cavity of the C shape being elongated to form a guide fora member fixed in relation to the centre about which the latch plate isangularly movable.

One form of construction lof a releasable fastening device in accordancewith the invention and suitable for application as a motor vehicle doorfastening will now be described, by way of example, with the referenceto the accompanying schematic drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevation of the fastening device with the parts inthe fastening position,

FIGURE 2 is a sectional view of the fastening device shown in FIGURE 1on the line II-II of that ligure,

FIGURE 3 is a view of the fastening device of FIG- URE 1 looking in thedirection of the arrow shown in that ligure,

FIGURE 4 is a top view of the fastening device, the striker plateforming one or" the engaging parts being omitted, and

FIGURE 5 is a detail view.

Referring to the drawings, the fastening device indicated generally at10 therein comprises a striker 11 in the form of a plate mounted on thebody pillar (not illustrated) of the vehicle so as to be stationary notonly in the translatory sense during the fastening operation but also inthe angular sense. The door pillar of the vehicle has mounted thereon astriker pin 12, which isV fixed, and a latch pin 13 which projectsthrough an arcuate opening 14 in the panelling of the door pillar and ina backplate 15 mounted thereon, in order to permit movement of the latchpin along the arcuate opening due to its engagement by the striker 11.The latch pin 13 is carried vby a latch plate 16 in the form of a levermounted behind the panelling of the door pillar for angular movementabout a main pivot pin 17 secured to the backplate 15 and the axis 17aof which coincides with the aforesaid axis about which relative angularmovement of one part relatively to the other part occurs. The arcuateopening 14 is struck from the axis of the pivot pin 17 to allow thenecessary latchfpin 13.

The striker 11 is preferably of substantially C shape placed uprightwith its upper and lower jaws 18, 19 elongated in the horizontaldirection to afford a narrow horizontal slot 20 outwardly ared as shownat 21 at the leading end 11a of the striker formed by the free ends ofthe jaws. Into this flared portion 21 the striker pin 12 lixed to thedoor pillar engages du-ring a door-closing movement whereby the door isbrought gradually to the arcuate movement of the form, eing providedwith two protuberances or teeth 23, 24 separated by a trough 25 and theeiect on the latch pin 13 when it is engaged by the leading end 11a ofthe upper jaw 1S of the striker 11 is for the pin to ride up theinclined surface 24a of the first tooth 24 and then to fall back intothe trough 25 between the two teeth which provides a position of safetylock. In this position the aforestaid parts, which consist of the latchplate 16 and the striker 11, are restrained against release bytranslatory movement between the door and the body in the reversedirection, should the door-closing movement have been made withinsuicient force to take the latch pin 13 over the second tooth 23.

it will be understood that when the door is slammed with sufficientforce to perform fully the door-fastening operation the latch pin 13rides also over the second tooth 23 and thereafter falls back againstthe downwardly and rearwardly inclined surface 26 between such secondtooth and the closed end 11b of the striker 11 which forms the positionof full lock. The trailing faces of both teeth 23, 24 are shaped as arcsstruck substantially from the axis of the pivot pin 17 when in theposition it occupies relatively to the striker 11 in the full lock andsafety lock positions respectively, with the result that both teeth areof such form that forces between the latch pin 13 and the striker 11 atthese points pass substantially through the axis 17a about which thelatch plate 16 is angularly movable and consequently exert no torque onthe latter.

The axis 17a about which the latch plate 16 is angularly movable ispreferably disposed substantially vertically above the striker pin 12. Atorsion spring 27 is arranged around the pivot pin 17 and urges thelatch plate 16 in a clockwise direction towards the engaged position.Also rotatably mounted on the pivot pin 17 is a contactor 28 whichcarries above the pivot pin a square peg 29 which engages with an edge30 of the latch plate 16. An elongated substantially vertical slot 31 isformed in the contactor 28 to accept the pivot pin 17 so that thecontactor is capable of substantially vertical sliding movement betweenupper and lower extreme positions and is indexed in either of thesepositions by a spring 31a.

Control of the contactor 28 and latch plate 16 may be achieved throughthe agency of any desired form of mechanism. In the embodimentillustrated such mechanisrn includes a remote control lever 32 in theform of a bellcrank, pivoted for movement in a plane transversely of thelatch plate on a pivot pin 33 secured to a portion 34 of the backplate15 which projects substantially normally from the remainder of suchplate. Actuation of the remote control lever 32 in an anti-clockwisedirection by the operation of an inside door handle (not illustrated),causes an extremity 35 of the lever to bear downwardly on an edge 36 ofthe latch plate 16 and turn the latter about the pivot pin 17 in ananti-clockwise direction to release the latch pin 13 from the striker11. The same result may be achieved by direct pushbutton pressure, thepushbutton (not illustrated) having a shaft 37 the inner end 38 of whichpresses on a platform 39 formed on the contactor 28. Rotation of thelatter causes the peg 29 carried thereby to make contact with the edge30 of the latch plate 16 and release the latch pin 13 from the striker11.

In the fully locked position of the parts the striker pin 12 lies in theguide formed by the elongated cavity or slot 20 of the C shape of thestriker 11 towards the closed end 11b of the latter while the latch pin13 bears against the trailing face 26 of the second tooth 23, i.e. pin12 is positioned forwardly of the striker pin and the pivot pin 17 aboutwhich the latch plate is angularly movable. This staggered dispositionof the striker pin 12 and latch pin 13 ensures that the upper jaw 18 ofthe C shape is trapped rigidly in a vertical direction.

In order to lock the vehicle door against release by means of thepushbutton, the latter is fitted with a locking device arranged so thatinsertion and rotation of a key in the pushbutton also rotates thepushbutton shaft 37 about its longitudinal axis. A transverselyprojecting portion 40 of such shaft projects into an aperture 41 in thecontactor 2S so that rotation of the pushbutton shaft 37 raises thecontactor to its upper position in which it is indexed by the spring31a. When the contactor 28 is in this upper position the peg 29 islifted clear of the edge 30 so that movement of the contactor does noteffect release of the mechanism 1t). To unlock by means of a key thepushbutton shaft 37 is rotated in the reverse direction to that taken bythe shaft during the locking operation so that the contactor 2S is movedto its lower position whereupon rotation of the contactor brings the peg29 into contact with the edge 30 of the latch plate 16. A self centeringspring is provided in the pushbutton mechanism so that both when themechanism is locked or unlocked the pushbutton shaft 37 and lockingdevice return to the neutral position.

Locking of the door from inside the vehicle is effected by rotating theremote control lever 32 in a clockwise direction so that the extremity35 bears against a substantially horizontal edge 42 of the contactor 28to raise the latter to its inoperative position. After locking of thedoor the remote control lever 32 returns to its neutral controlposition. Unlocking the door by means of the remote control lever 32 iseffected by rotating the lever in an anti-clockwise direction from itsneutral position so that the extremity 35 bears against a furthersubstantially horizontal edge 43 of the contactor to lower the latter toits operative position.

in the arrangement described in which locking by means of both a key anda remote control lever is incorporated it is necessary to arrange thatthe member used for locking should automatically return to its neutralposition so that the subsequent unlocking by the other member can beperformed.

if the vehicle door is locked when in the open position, the arrangementis such that the act of closing the door cancels the locking action andallows release of the mechanism 10 by means of the outside pushbutton.This is achieved by the provision of an interacting lever 414 ofbellcrank form pivotally mounted on a pivot pin 45 secured to thebackplate 15. A spring 46 loads the interacting lever 44 in ananti-clockwise direction. On closure of the door the latch pin 13engages with the striker 11 and the latch plate 16 is rotated in ananticlockwise direction. This rotation causes an edge 47 of the latchplate 16 to bear against a shorter arm 4S of the interacting lever M.-and rotate the latter about its pivot pin 45 against the spring loadingin consequence of which a longer substantially horizontal arm 49 of theinteracting lever is brought into contact with the peg 29 of thecontactor 28 to move the latter downwardly into its operative position.

As already described the latch plate 16 is lightly loaded into positionto hold the latch pin 13 in contact with the cam surface 22 of the upperjaw 18 of the striker 11, this being achieved by means ofthe lighttorsion spring 27. It will be understood, however, that in theernbodiment which has been described, in which the latch and strikerplates 16, 11 are vertical and the latch pin 13 movable about ahorizontal axis` the spring loading is not absolutely essential as thelatch pin will turn to its safety lock and full lock positions bygravity. This is of importance as it involves that the fastening is notrendered inoperative by spring failure. If desired the latch pin may beprovided with a roller for engagement with the cam surface 22 of thestriker 11.

Movement between the striker 11 and striker pin 12 in a direction foreand aft of the vehicle is preferably limited to such an extent thatdisengagement of the latch pin from the striker is prevented. This maybe achieved by reducing the width of the elongated guide slot 20 in thestriker 11 at the outer surface of the striker, as

maar

Y shown at 20a in FIGURE 5, while the striker pin 12 is also reducedwhere it passes through the outer surface portion, as shown at 12a, andis formed with a head 12b which lies in the wider rear portion of theslot.

It will be appreciated that in the fastening device of the invention thedoor can be locked against release and also unlocked from inside oroutside the vehicle and that when the door is locked the pushbutton isfree to move but does not release the mechanism. Moreover, as alreadystated, the act of closing the door cancels the locking action if suchhas been performed and allows release of the fastening device by meansof the outside pushbutton.

l claim:

l, A releasable fastening device comprising in combination twoplate-like parts between which relative translatory movement in spacedsubstantially parallel planes occurs during the fastening operation, oneof said plate-like parts comprising a latch plate mounted for angularmovement about an axis disposed transversely of said planes and formingpart of an -inside locking mechanism of the fastening device and theother of said plate-like parts comprising a striker plate having threespaced generally parallel surfaces one o-f which forms a cam surfacewhich'faces towards said axis during the fastening operation, said latchplate having a transversely projecting portionoffset from said axiswhichengages with said cam surface during the fastening operation and entersinto wedging contact therewith on any tendency for relative translatorymovement in the reverse direction to that occuring during said fasteningoperation, and a member fixed relatively to said axis and which entersbetween two of said spaced surfaces which form a guide for said memberduring the fastening operation and one of which makes contact with saidmember to provide a reaction to said wedging contact.

2. A releasable fastening device according to claim 1, wherein saidlatch plate has a fully fastened position in which the plane containingsaid axis and the point of engagement between said latch plate and saidcam surface is inclined at a greater angle to the direction of saidrelative translatory movement than to a line at right angles to thatdirection.

3. A releasable fastening device according to claim 2, wherein saidstriker plate is substantially C-shaped and said cam surface and saidone spaced surface are formed on one jaw thereof, the cavity of the Cshape being elongated and its sides providing the two spaced surfaceswhich form said guide.

4. A releasable fastening device according to claim l, wherein said camsurface comprises two surface portions spaced longitudinally of thestriker with each of which said projecting portion engages in turnduring the fastening operation, said surface portions being arranged tolie outwardly of a line passing through the centre of said member andsaid axis when said latch plate and striker are in the full lockposition and being of such form that forces exerted between them andsaid projecting portion due to said tendency for relative translatorymovement in the reverse direction pass substantially through said axisand apply no torque to said latch plate about said axis.

5. A releasable fastening device according to claim 4, wherein the outerof said surface portions is engaged by said projecting portion toprovide a safety lock condition and the inner surface portion is engagedby said projecting portion in the fully locked engagement of said latchplate and keeper, said inner surface portion being disposed relativelyto said axis and said member so that the distance between the point atwhich said projecting portion makes contact with said inner surfaceportion in said fully locked engagement and said line is small ascompared with the distance between said point and said axis so that thereaction force produced by said wedging contact has a component actingtowards said 6 axis in the direction of said line which is ofconsiderably greater magnitude than the component acting in a directionnormal to said line. i

6. A releasable fastening device comprising in cornbination twoplate-like parts between which relative translatory movement in spacedsubstantially parallel planes occurs during the fastening operation, oneof said plate-like parts comprising a latch plate mounted for angularmovement about an axis disposed transversely of said planes and whichforms part of an inside locking mechanism of the fastening device andthe other of said plate-like parts comprising a substantially C- shapedstriker plate, said latch plate having a portion which projectstransversely therefrom and engages with a cam surface formed on an outerperipheral edge of one jaw of said striker plate as a result of saidrelative translatory movement during the fastening operation and entersinto wedging contact with said surface on any tendency for relativetranslatory movement in the reverse direction to that occurring duringthe fastening operation, the device also comprising a member fixed inrelation to said axis and which enters the cavity of the C shape duringsaid relative translatory movement and engages an inner peripheral edgeof said jaw of the striker plate during said wedging contact to providea wedging reaction thereto with one jaw of the striker plate wedgedbetween said member and said latch plate, said cavity being elongatedand having sides which are parallel over the major portion of theirlength and embrace opposite sides of said member to guide it during thefastening operation.

7. A releasable fastening device comprising in combination twoplate-like parts between which relative translatory movement in spacedsubstantially parallel planes occurs during the fastening operation, oneof said plate-like parts comprising a latch plate mounted for angularmovement about an axis and which forms part of an inside lockingmechanism of the fastening device and the other of said plate-like partscomprising a substantially C-shaped striker plate, said latch platehaving a portion which projects transversely therefrom to engage with acam surface formed on an outer peripheral edge of one jaw of saidstriker plate as a result of said relative translatory movement duringthe fastening operation and enter into Wedging contact with said surfaceon any tendency for relative translatory movement in the reversedirection to that occurring during the fastening operation, a member xedin relation to said axis and which enters the cavity of the C-shapeduring said relative translatory movement, said cavity being elongatedto form a guide for said member, manually operable release meansarranged on one side of a door with which the fastening device isoperatively associated, further manually operable release means actuatedfrom the opf posite side of said door, said release means and saidfurther release means being operable to impart angular movement to saidlatch plate about said axis in a direction which releases it fromengagement with said cam surface, angular movement of said latch platetowards said release position by said manually operable release meansbeing effected by a pivoted contactor having a portion which bearsagainst said latch plate when angular movement is imparted to saidcontactor by said manually operable release means, said release meansand said further release means having portions which can be brought tobear on said contactor to move it to an inoperative position in whichsaid portion thereof is moved to a position in which it clears the latchplate to lock the device against release by said release means.

8. A releasable fastening device according to claim 7, wherein saidrelease means comprise a pushbutton and a shaft operable thereby topress directly on said contactor and said further release means comprisea remote control lever, said contactor and said latch plate beingmounted on a common pivot pin and said contactor being formed with aslot to accept the latter to enable it to be slid to two extremepositions, operative and inoperative, in both of which it is indexed andin one of which said portion thereof can bear against the latch platewhilst in the other said portion clears the latch plate, movement of thecontactor from one position to the other and back again being effectedby appropriate movement of said shaft of the pushbutton and by theremote control lever. 9. A releasable fastening device according toclaim 8, and further comprising an interacting element having a portionwhich bears against said latch plate and a further portion which movesthe contactor into an operative position, if the device is lockedagainst release when the door is open, upon closing movement of the doorand consequent contact of the latch plate with the striker plate. 10. Afastening device according to claim 9, wherein said pushbutton shaft isrotated about its axis to effect sliding movement of the contactor fromone extreme position to the other by means of a releasable key which isinserted into the pushbutton whilst similar sliding movement of thecontactor is effected by the remote control lever by causing a portionthereof to bear on spaced surfaces of the contactor, the pushbuttonshaft and remote control lever being returned to a neutral positionafter locking or release of the mechanism has been eifected.

11. A releasable fastening device comprising in combination a backplate,a latch plate pivotally mounted on the backplate adjacent the innersurface thereof and having an off-centre projecting portion whichprojects through a slot formed in said backplate, a pivot for said latchplate, a generally C-shaped striker plate adapted for mounting fortranslatory movement relatively to the backplate in a plane adjacent andparallel to the outer surface of the latter, one jaw of the C shapeproviding two opposed surfaces one of which forms a cam surface havingtwo projecting teeth separated by a trough and over which in use saidprojecting portion of the latch plate slides during the fasteningoperation and enters into wedging contact therewith on any tendency forrelative translatory movement in the reverse direction to that occurringduring the fastening operation, engagement of said projecting portion insaid trough providing a safety lock position and engagement of saidprojecting portion with a rearwardly inclined surface behind the secondtooth providing a fully fastened condition, and a striker pin mounted onsaid backplate to project from the outer face thereof in fixed relationto said pivot for engagement with the other of said opposed surfaces ofsaid jaw to provide a reaction to said wedging contact in which said onejaw of the striker plate is wedged bc tween said striker pin and saidlatch plate, the cavity of the C shape being elongated and having sideswhich are substantially parallel over the greater portion of theirlength and embrace opposite sides of the striker pin to guide it duringthe fastening operation, said striker pin being positioned relatively tosaid pivot so that the reaction produced by said wedging contact has agreater component at right angles to the direction of said translatorymovement than 'in that direction.

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